Forbidden Game
by HippieHebe
Summary: Sylvia could two-time with every boy in Tulsa, and it wouldn't mean anything – because Sylvia would always be Dallas' girl. ONESHOT.


**Disclaimer:** Hinton owns all.

**Note:** In the book Pony said Sylvia started hanging around Johnny for a while, when Dallas was in jail – until Steve warned her off. The way he had said it made me think Johnny had a crush on Sylvia. So, this is based on that.

xXx

There is supposed to be something poetic about a really hot day, just like there's something poetic about a bitterly cold and snowy day. You know, the type where your clothes stuck to your back and you swore you could see the heat rising off the concrete pavements. Most people loved this kind of weather. Basking out under the sun, like basting turkey's in a universal oven. Their skins turning bright red, revealing their true pasty selves, as hemlines ride up or straps fall down. Johnny was never a poet, that was all Ponyboy. But what he did know was; it was too damn hot to be outside.

He had stood under the awning of a shop a few blocks away from school, when she had walked by. Her skirt was shorter than the school rules allowed, showing off a pair of long tanned legs. Her top buttons of her blouse were undone revealing, what he presumed, she had intended to flaunt. Her blonde hair bounced as she marched down the street.

Johnny swallowed when her eyes fixed on him and narrowed into thin slits. He could have sworn her hips swung a little more when she walked up to him, but what would he know? He exhaled, feeling heat gather at the back of his neck and sweat run down his spine.

"Is it true?" Sylvia asked her red lips poised in the perfect scowl. "Did Dally really get hauled in again?"

Johnny opened his mouth and closed it again. His mouth and throat felt so dry, it wasn't even funny, and Sylvia's cold stare hadn't helped matters. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Well?" Sylvia prodded. Her face now inches away from his face. Johnny blinked, taken back. Her eyes were mismatched, he had never realized before. One brown and one green. He had seen her countless of times - with Dallas - and paid no attention to her.

"Yes," he said, in a quiet croak.

"Typical!" Sylvia shrieked. "Just - Ugh! He just cares about himself!"

Johnny watched her curse and wave her arms around in the middle of the street, unaware or not bothered by the looks she received from passing pedestrians. After a few moments she seemed to calm down. Straightening up she sat down on the mechanical pony, which rocked back and forth when you put a dime in, and acted as if the dramatic rant hadn't happened.

"So, why did he get hauled in?" She asked, running her red fingernails through her hair.

"Broke into the school," Johnny replied. She scowled, as she fished out a carton of Camels out of her bag. Tapping two out, and to his surprise, handing one to him. She lit up her cigarette and tossed him the pack of matches.

A truck whizzed past them, sending an ungodly amount of hot air their way. Johnny stared as the thin green material of Sylvia's skirt fluttered up her thighs, revealing pale flesh. He had looked away when she shifted, hoping she hadn't caught him staring. The last thing he wanted was Dallas Winston thinking he couldn't be trusted. He slowly looked up from beneath his bangs, grateful for the veil. Thankfully she hadn't been looking.

Her eyes were looking off into the distance with dreamy or unseeing eyes. Johnny stared, as she dragged her cigarette and watched the smoke escape from her scarlet, parted lips. A funny feeling went through his body. He wondered what it would be like to kiss lips like that. Or kiss any girl. He had always been too shy to make any move on a girl, and he was pretty sure they didn't care. After all, what did he have to offer?

"Broke into school," she said, breaking out of her daydream, with a bleak expression on her face. "He hates school, but is willing to break into it? Bastard …"

Johnny stared at Sylvia puzzled. Her eyes were shiny and if he didn't know any better, he could have sworn she was going to cry. He wondered if she ever had. Like Evie had when Steve got hauled in right in front of the Dingo. She sniffed and straightened up her skirt. Any emotion that had been showing a moment ago was all gone and replaced by a hard and cold look.

"He probably had his reasons," Johnny said, slowly.

"You're pretty loyal to him," she said, with narrowed eyes. Johnny didn't reply as she watched him, like she was studying a piece on a chess board. She got up and tossed the cigarette on the pavement. She ground the butt with her pumps, all the while staring at him with a smile on her face. Heat rose at the back of his neck again, as she turned around and walked away in her trademark lilt.

xXx

Johnny kicked an empty coke can across the street as he made his way over to the Dingo. He was supposed to meet Sodapop, Steve and Ponyboy there - it was one of the rare times Sodapop had invited both of them along when their girls would be there too. The Dingo to no surprise was cram packed with cars and probably every teen in Tulsa with and without a car.

He weaved through the groups of giggling, gum smacking girls, steamed up cars and clusters of laughing guys, until he spotted Steve's car. Steve and Evie were sat on the hood sharing a basket of fries, and talking to Soda and Sandy. Ponyboy was stood off to the side, fiddling with a straw and looking like he'd had better times.

"Hey Johnny," Ponyboy and the others greeted. Johnny smiled and offered a 'hi' in response. Johnny always felt uncomfortable around the girlfriends, they always stared at his scar and sometimes talked about him like he wasn't there: 'poor kid' they'd said say 'did you find out who did that to him?' and then the conversation would change about somebody else.

"You want a drink?" Ponyboy offered, already making his way over to the building.

"Yeah," Johnny replied. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was. "I'd kill for one."

"I heard Dal' got arrested again," Ponyboy said, as they stood in the queue. "He's in for three months."

"Yeah"

"He broke into the school."

"Do you know why?" Johnny asked, as Ponyboy ordered his Pepsi.

"No," Ponyboy said, as he paid for the drink. "… Does he usually have reasons?"

Johnny didn't reply as he took the drink. He was sure Dallas must have had his reasons for doing so. He may have been a hood, but he didn't always break and steal things for no reason. There had to be a motive. He listened to Ponyboy talk, but after a while, even Pony's voice became a low drone in the background.

For some reason his thoughts kept wandering to Sylvia and her increasingly short skirts, her dark root and blonde hair and her smile … those red lips. He watched Evie shift to sit on Steve's lap. He imagined what it would be like if Sylvia sat on his lap like that; imagined her flipping her hair and laughing at his jokes, looking at him from beneath her lashes, and sneaking a kiss when nobody was looking. No. Johnny shook his head. Dallas was his friend. Yeah, Dallas was his friend … and Sylvia was the prettiest girl in school.

"Hi guys," Sylvia said, breaking Johnny from his thoughts. He spluttered and coughed, surprised and thankfully not loud enough for everyone to hear, as Sylvia walked past them. Johnny watched her walk away, his heart shooting up into his throat, when she turned her head around and gave him a sly smile.

"Since when is she friendly with us?" Evie asked, looking at Sandy. As the girls talked about Sylvia, Steve stared at him with a frown on his face. Johnny looked away pretending to become more interested at the lid on his Pepsi cup.

xXx

The following week went be agonizingly slow. If the heat wasn't too much to bear, it was Sylvia's sly smiles, accidental bumps and increasingly short skirts. She was going to kill him – slowly and painfully.

He stood outside of the DX waiting for Ponyboy. Sodapop was starting his shift soon, and Steve was already inside working on a car. He'd been sitting watching Steve work, until Evie came by and Steve decided he'd take a ten minute break. So, he wandered outside and sat waiting by the curb feeling like a reject.

"Hello, Johnny," a sultry voice greeted. He looked up to see Sylvia standing a foot away in shorts and matching blouse.

"Hi," he croaked.

"Why are you spending your Saturday sitting on a curb?" She asked, sitting down next to him. Johnny responded with a small shrug. Shuffling his feet, he stared at his tennis shoes.

"I'm waiting for Ponyboy," he replied.

"Oh," Sylvia said. Smiling she lifted her hand toyed with the collar on his jeans jacket. Johnny stiffened immediately, and swallowed a dry lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "You ever had a sweetheart?"

Johnny opened his mouth but no sound came out. He shook his head for 'no'. Sylvia just smiled, her green eyes gleamed like an ally cats. It made him feel uneasy, but also hot and achy. He didn't know whether to run or jump at her.

"You've never felt a girl's touch?"

Johnny didn't reply but looked away, slightly ashamed. Was she playing with him? It as pretty obvious what the answer was.

"You ain't like Dallas," she said. Yeah, that was why he hadn't had a girl. No girl seemed to want to approach him. Why have, the battered donkey when you could have the wild, untamable horse? "You're gentle, responsible and would never leave a girl hanging. I can see why Dallas is so fond of you."

Johnny gave her a sharp look. Sylvia laughed in attempt to shrug off her comment. She moved her hands from his collar to his chin. Johnny exhaled, as his heart began beating like a jackhammer on speed. He watched Sylvia lean in, her face become closer and closer. Should he push her away? He thought. She was Dally's girl, but the closer she got the more paralyzed he felt. Leave it to him, to screw up and fall for his idol's girl. So, he closed his eyes.

Her lips were soft and left behind a red, strawberry scented residue he deducted as lipstick. The kiss lasted for about three seconds, but Johnny saw stars.

"Hey, Johnny!" the cold voice broke Johnny out of his pleasant moment. He looked up to Steve standing in the doorway to the DX with Evie beside him, staring at them as she chewed hard on her gum. "You want a Pepsi?"

Johnny mentally cursed as he got up and made his way over to Steve. At that moment Soda's car rolled into the DX, and both Pony and Soda stepped out. As Johnny greeted them, he watched Steve walk up to Sylvia, his fists balled and face red.

His dislike for Steve resided quickly, because even without his interruption nothing would've ever have happened beyond that kiss. Sylvia could two-time with every boy in Tulsa, and it wouldn't mean anything – because Sylvia would always be Dallas' girl.

xXx

The hardest part was finding a way to end it. Hopefully, I ended it right. This was posted for Good Fic Day.


End file.
